A Silver Creek Christmas

Sara didn't have time to get out of the way when Joe came at Coburn. Joe tackled the man, knocking them both to the ground.

She went right along with them.

Her back landed against the barn floor, knocking the breath out of her. Not good. She was already breathing hard from the smoke and the fear, and it took her a moment to scramble away from the fight.

And there was indeed a fight.

Coburn and Joe were about the same size, both trained for a physical fight, but Coburn had a huge advantage. He still had hold of the gun, and he pulled the trigger.

The shot was deafening and blasted through the barn.

She prayed that Joe hadn't been shot but couldn't tell. Coburn and he continued to bash each other. But what Joe couldn't seem to do was get Coburn to let go of that gun. The man was obviously desperate and would do anything rather than go to jail, but they had to figure out a way to stop him.

In the adjacent corral, she heard her Pinto mare snort and whinny, pawing at the ground. Lamar was shouting, too, and fought to get free of the ropes around him. There was no way Sara could get to him to help because Coburn and Joe were in a life and death battle literally right in front of her.

She looked around for a weapon. Joe's was by the barn door, out of reach. Her rifle was here, somewhere, from the wrestling match she'd had with Joe the day before. She shoved aside the clumps of hay, frantically searching for it. No sign of it, but Sara latched onto a pitch fork. Maybe she could hit Coburn with it, but the problem with that was Joe and he were twisting and turning. They were too close together for her to do anything that would risk hurting Joe.

Another shot.

Another sound quickly followed this one. A sound that sent her heart to her knees. Joe groaned in pain. God, no. He couldn't be shot.

But he was.

She saw the blood on his shirt.

Nothing could have held her back at that point. Nothing. Sara charged forward, the handle end of the pitchfork aimed at the fray. And the moment she saw an opening, she brought it down hard on Coburn's head.

She cursed when Coburn didn't let go of the gun, but his head did flop back for just a second, and that was all Joe needed. He caught onto Coburn's throat, lifting the man's head just enough to bash it onto the barn floor. In the same motion, Joe snatched up the gun.

"Move, and I'll kill you," Joe warned Coburn, and there was no doubt he meant it. Every muscle in his face was as hard as iron.

However, she could also see Joe grimace in pain.

Sara made it to him in one step, reaching for the phone in his pocket. Even though her hands were shaking like crazy, she managed to call nine-one-one.

"Get an ambulance out here now." And she prayed that it would come soon enough to save Joe.